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Thursday, June 29, 2017

London Baby!! And by London, I mean London, Ontario (Canada)

After a long journey across Canada, TC and Señor Azul arrived late last night. While a bit tired, they were in good spirits.

Who is TC & Señor Azul? Who am I? Why did I want them to come visit me?

Just in case you don't know, TC (a.k.a Ms. Hen) and Señor Azul are a ceramic Hen and Rooster duo who are on a mission to spread artistic joy around the world. They travel from artist to artist in order to have their portrait painted and also to meet great new friends. It is such an amazing and unique project that has large community. Click here to the history of the Travelling Chicken.

Most of you also may not know me - my name is Kathy MacKay and I am a Canadian artist that lives in London Ontario. You can learn more about me by clicking here.

One reason I was so excited to be part of the travelling chicken project was so my own Art Mascot, Stuart, could finally meet the famous TC and Señor Azul. Stuart, a travelling elephant mouse, follows the Travelling Chicken Blog religiously (he gets his tail in a real knot if he misses a post!). If you want to learn a bit more about Stuart, you can either read my blog post about him or check out his Facebook page. '

Now that introductions are out of the way, let the latest leg of the journey begin...

After a good night rest, and in true rooster & chicken fashion, TC and Señor Azul were up this morning at the crack of dawn! They started the day with a delicious breakfast. Fuelled up and ready to go, our first stop was Westminster Ponds, a nice conservation area in the city.

Next, Ms. Hen and Señor Azul FINALLY met up with Stuart (and a few of Stuart's friends!). While he was so excited to meet them, Stu was definitely star struck upon first encounter (can you say tongue tied? I've never seen the little guy so quiet). But TC and Señor Azul were so friendly and so down to down to earth, that Stuart quickly got over his initial fright. They spent a fun day visiting and even viewed some fantastic art.

Here are the photos we took last night and today. Hope you enjoy. We will be sharing more photos as their journey continues!

TC & Senor Azul upon arrival. They report a good trip.

As TC and Senor Azul well know, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

TC and Senor Azul wanted to go for a little dip at Westminster Ponds.

Ms. Hen sat for a little study for me - to help prepare for her more finished portrait.

Monday, June 19, 2017

The Okanagan has been growing grapes for over 40 years, but in the past five, wineries have been popping up around every corner. Its not just the tourists that love our wine, us locals frequent the many bistros and patios during summer. Many offer free entertainment and even picnic ares for the family. The largest winery restaurants even stay open year round.

Ms. Chicken lured Azule away from his Ogopogo hunting expedition for a pleasant day vinyard hopping. Azul had heard about our champagne method wines and wanted to take some bottles home for his friends. We sat on a terrace with our wine to enjoy the view. TC found the sparkly bubbles quite fascinating and before I could stop her, she had hopped into my champagne bowl. She said it was quite exhilarating, a cross between a jacuzzi and a polar bear swim.

I tried and tried to get a good image of this painting:There it was sparkling in the sun with the deep impasto creating dimensional shadows, but every photo came out dull. This is definately not a dull painting, during the day it sparkles and at night it glows. You will have to use your imagination.

Sad to say the traveling companions will be leaving the Okanagan for their next adventure. They will take with them some wonderful memories and many souvenir postcards of their visit.

A fond farewell TC and Azule.

Souvenirs of the trip
All Limited Edition 6" d 8" Canvas Prints Only $29 including shipping. Available only to Travelling Chicken and Paint a Masterpiece Blog Followers. But act fast as there are only 10 of each and then they're gone forever.

Thursday, June 15, 2017

The Travelling Chicken and I have been thoroughly enjoying our weekend.
Snr Azul headed out early with his camera to capture ogopogos image and get the reward. I don't rate his chances highly as people have been trying to get a shot of our illusive monster since photography was invented. Nevertheless Azuls obsession left us girls to enjoy some alone time.

First TC helped me with my spring cleaning and then I showed her how I create abstracts on my iPad. She begged to be included in one and although I pointed out that including her portrait turns the work from digital abstract into digital collage, she still kept calling them abstracts.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

TC Was very excited to hear about my iPad drawings and when she saw the brilliant colors of those translucent layers she asked to sit for an iPad portrait. I've created two drawings so far and there may be more to come, but I will paint her as well.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Ms. Chicken has arrived in the Okanagan and is recouperating with her traveling companion Snr. Azule. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Ms Chicken, she has been traveling the world for over 5 years visiting artists who paint her portrait. She has had many amazing adventures including getting lost several times, being unable to get painted due to a flood and getting smashed at a party (literally). You can follow her escapades from the beginning on her blog here.

The worldwide artists have hosted over 70 visits so far and it gets laborious to see all the paintings via the blog: I decided I would like to see all those portraits in one place, so I've compiled a collection on "The Traveling Chicken" Pinterest Board click here. All the links take you back to the original entries on the blog and you really need to visit the blog.

So back to Ms Chickens current trip. After a good sleep the couple headed out to the balcony to inspect the brightly colored geraniums which had just come into bloom. The weather was lovely and warm, the sun was out and spring was in the air. They frolicked among the leaves for a while playing hide and seek.

Then Azule, always protective of Ms Chicken, saw she was getting tired and suggested a rock massage. The only problem is he got it all wrong, insisting that this was the way it was done.

Over the next week before TC leaves Sea will be creating several iPad Drawings and at least one painting, so drop in again for more of Ms Chickens adventures in the Okanagan and an opportunity to purchase a unique chicken portrait.

The friends have requested to stay for Art Battle competition on June 16th, which their hostess, Sea Dean is participating in at the OK Corral. Then they will be on their way east. In the meantime they will be busy sightseeing and posing for portraits.

They are particularly interested in trying to spot the lake monster Ogopogo, depicted below in a collaboration between Sea and her nephew Spencer. I believe the reward for capturing Ogopogos image is what most interests Snr Azule, but Ms Chicken wants to swim with Ogopogo and ask him for a ride.

OGOPOGOS LUNCH BY Sea Dean and Spencer Arguedas

More about the past traveling adventures of Ms Chicken and her companions at http://travel-chicken.blogspot.ca

Follow Sea Dean at www.paintamasterpiece.blogspot.com
All links to view more art, comment and purchase link from there.
Currently available for commissions and pet portraits.

In case you're wondering, although there are various gramatical rules, traveling is spelled with one 'l' in the USA and two 'll's in The UK. As the chicken started her journey in the UK, her title uses the UK spelling, although that is not set in stone. :)

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About The Project

The travels & adventures of a group of ceramic chicken friends as they make their way around the art world, making new friends and inspiring creativity. Artists from across the globe are always surprised to see who's coming to visit. They are sharing their stories through their paintings and drawings, as the Traveling Chicken inspires new work!